Most countries are ill-equipped to handle what the United Nations said Tuesday is a “looming” global water crisis caused by climate change and population growth.
Floods, droughts and other water-related disasters are on the rise due to global warming, the World Meteorological Organization said in a new report published Tuesday.
At the same time, swelling populations and dwindling resources around the globe have led to increased water scarcity in multiple regions, the U.N. agency said.
“But management, monitoring, forecasting and early warnings are fragmented and inadequate,” said the report, which included input from more than 20 global development agencies and scientific institutions.
“We need to wake up to the looming water crisis,” said WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas.
Currently, more than 2 billion people live in "water-stressed countries” where they lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation, according to the report “The State of Climate Services 2021: Water.”https://t.co/OBX1CPQuKx
— Winthrop Rodgers (@wrodgers2) October 6, 2021